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A
bit
of somewhat surprising news out of supply
chain software provider i2 this week, as
it announced that CEO Michael McGrath had
resigned, effective July 30.
The
move was not totally unexpected, as McGrath
had announced in May that he was going to
leave the position by the end of the year
(See
Ex-Baseball
Star Lenny Dykstra Says i2 Stock is Buy).
Something must have occurred to hasten the
departure, however. McGrath,
57, says he is seeking other opportunities,
according to an SEC filing.
McGrath,
formerly an i2 board member and one of the
founders of consulting company PRTM, took
over the CEO reigns at i2 in February 2005,
at the tail end of an accounting scandal
and deep financial troubles at the company.
Under his leadership, i2 settled with the
SEC, and righted its financial ship, with
eight consecutive quarters of profitability,
a generally rebounding stock price, and
renewed market momentum.
"Michael
became CEO during a critical time in our
history, and brought a great deal of energy
and passion to the position while leading
us through many key initiatives, including
stabilizing the company financially, improving
our management foundation and setting the
stage for future growth," said i2 Founder
and Chairman Sanjiv Sidhu.
In parallel,
i2 announced that Pallab Chatterjee, executive
vice president, Solutions Operations, and
chief delivery officer, was appointed interim
chief executive officer. McGrath is expected
to remain employed by i2 in an advisory
capacity as CEO emeritus through October
31, 2007, and will continue to assist the
board of directors with the search for a
new CEO.
While McGrath
enjoyed wide respect within i2, he was viewed
by some as more of a fixer than a builder.
Something occurred to move up McGrath’s
departure date, before a permanent CEO was
found.
“McGrath
was really an operator. He successfully
brought the business back to a more stable
position,” Jeff
Woods, a Vice President at Gartner,
told SCDigest. “We expect the next
stage of i2 development to be centered around
executing an innovation partnership model
with its customers and in closer coordination
with ERP vendors. Customers should be looking
to see if a new executive can execute on
the necessary coordination with ERP strategies
and vendors.” |
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